95bFM: The Wire

Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, and Producer Evie to discuss who the use of AI has durastically evolved over the past year!

National MP, Greg Flemming, is pushing for cross-party support for anti-trafficking legislation to expand on his members’ bill.

This comes as recent court documents and child welfare agencies have shown cases of adoptive parents with criminal histories abusing children who have been adopted from overseas.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to a board member of ECPAT Child Alert; an organisation aimed at ending child sexual exploitation, Rebecca Kingi, about current anti-trafficking legislation in Aotearoa and what these proposed changes aim to do.

Recently, NZ First Leader, and Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, has proposed a members bill that would ensure the terms “woman” and “man” are interpreted alongside one’s sex assigned at birth, as opposed to gender identity.

Peters sez he is aiming for this bill to replace a self-identification law that allows citizens to change their sex on their birth certificate.

This bill has seen a multitude of criticism, over concerns this bill is aligning with similar moves overseas, such as in the UK and US, as well as how the bill would be enforced.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to a member from Queer Endurance / Defiance, Leliel Trethowen, about Winston Peter’s member’s bill, how this will impact Aotearoa’s transgender community, and their planned rally on Parliament grounds against this proposed bill.

This week on the Monday Wire:

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie speaks to MP Simon Court about the government’s proposed changes to Early Childhood Education (or ECE) regulations, NZ First’s proposed gender bill and ACC’s ethnic outcomes target.

Evie speaks to early childhood representative on the NZ Educational Institute National (NZEI) Executive Zane McCarthy about the proposed changes to ECE, and why they spark cause for concern.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel speaks to Queer Endurance / Defiance member, Leliel Trethowen, about Winston Peter’s proposed gender bill.

Joel speaks to a board member of ECPAT Child Alert; an organisation aimed at ending child sexual exploitation Rebecca Kingi, about National MP, Greg Flemming, calling for cross-party support for anti-trafficking legislation.

And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss changes in the way AI is being used.

Whakarongo mai.

The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled that trans women do not meet the definition of women under UK equality laws.

The decision means services for women, such as refuges, hospital wards, and toilets, can exclude trans women.

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jane Fae, a director at TransActual UK, about this decision and its backlash.

A cross-party delegation of MPs recently visited Tonga, Hawai’i and Vanuatu as part of a Pacific trip organised by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters.

Earlier this week, New Zealand First proposed new legislation that would exclude trans communities from the definition of “woman” and “man” in law.

Winston Peters defended the bill on RNZ’s Morning Report, where he called interviewer Corin Dann a “disgrace” for raising the criticism against the bill that was brought forward by opposition parties.

During this interview, Peters threatened to cut RNZ’s government funding.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.

Four climate activists were arrested and seventy protesters were trespassed after blockading operations at Bathurst Resources’ Stockton coal mine for more than sixty hours.

The protest targeted the Australian-owned mine which is planning an expansion of activities approved through the government’s new fast-tracked consent process.

While Resources Minister Shane Jones has justified the coal expansion as important for domestic energy needs and economic growth, activists assert that the government is wrongly “doubling-down” on fossil fuels when they should be scaling up renewable energy.

Producer Sara spoke with Adam Currie, a climate activist from 350 Aotearoa and one of those who was arrested for disrupting operations at the coal mine this week. 

She started the interview by asking what the main goal of the protest was

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the recent cross-party delegation to the Pacific, New Zealand First’s new trans-exclusionary members' bill and Winston Peters’ threat to cut RNZ’s funding.

For International Desk, they spoke to Jane Fae, director at TransActual UK, about the UK Supreme Court decision that excludes trans women from the legal definition of a “woman.”

For City Counselling, Wire Producer Sara spoke with Auckland Councillor Julie Fairey about the intense weather of the Easter weekend, as well as latest developments in Auckland’s public transport system.

She also spoke with climate activist Adam Currie from this week’s protest at the Stockton mine which is seeking a fast-track approval for activity expansion.

On the 22nd of April 2025, the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa, or PSNA, wrote to the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, requesting that New Zealand initiate the call for an internationally enforced "no-fly" zone over Gaza.

PSNA Co-Chair, John Minto, said that it would be "a small but practical step to blunt Israel's continuing genocidal attacks on Palestinians".

Producer Max spoke with John Minto, to talk about the appeal to Foreign Minister Winston Peters, New Zealand's commitment to the region, as well as the impact it would have if New Zealand were to take action.

The Government announced its proposals for updating the Waste Minimisation Act and the Litter Act today. The proposals would combine these two Acts into one, extend producer responsibility and permit local government to use its share of the waste disposal levy on a wider range of activities unrelated to waste.

Labour party MP, Rachel Brooking, criticised the proposal for failing to include any mention of establishing a circular economy. However, Sue Coutts, an advocate for Zero Waste Network Aotearoa says that the proposal is a step in the right direction.